1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to beverage making devices and methods and, in specific embodiments, to a beverage making device comprising an outer housing for holding a mixture of a liquid and a beverage making material, an inner housing configured to be received within the outer housing and configured to slide within the outer housing, and a filter member having at least an outer peripheral edge coupled to the inner housing, where the filter member is configured to filter the mixture to provide a beverage as the inner housing slides within the outer housing.
2. Related Art
Beverage making devices, such as French press beverage makers, press pots, and the like, have been in use for several decades and are extremely popular among many coffee and tea aficionados. Traditional press pots allow for filtering a mixture of a liquid and a beverage making material using a central rod plunger in order to provide a filtered beverage. However, various problems may arise when using traditional press pots, such as: (i) unfiltered portions of the beverage making material may escape into the filtered beverage; (ii) the filtered beverage may lose its temperature quickly due to poor insulation; and (iii) it may take a long time to clean a residue of the beverage making material off of walls of a container of a press pot after serving the filtered beverage.
FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a traditional press pot 10 comprising a container 16, a plunger assembly 20, and a lid 30. The plunger assembly 20 comprises a rod 22 and a filter 24. The rod 22 is attached to the filter 24 at a center of the filter 24, and the rod 22 is not attached to any outer peripheral edge of the filter 24. When making a beverage 47 with the traditional press pot 10, a beverage making material, such as coffee grinds, tea leaves, or the like is placed into the container 16, and then a liquid, such as boiling water or the like, is poured into the container 16 to provide a mixture 45 of the liquid and the beverage making material. Then, the mixture 45 of the liquid and the beverage making material is filtered by the filter 24 as a downward pressure is applied to the rod 22, so as to provide the beverage 47. The beverage 47 may then be poured out of a spout 52 of the container 16 in order to serve the beverage 47.
Examples of related art press pots are disclosed in the following references: (i) U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,583 entitled “Infusion Filter”, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein; (ii) U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,299 entitled “Beverage Infusion Making Apparatus”, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein; (iii) U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,833 entitled “Automatic French Press Beverage Maker”, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein; and (iv) U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,133 entitled “French Press Coffee Maker with Assembly to Reduce Contact of Grounds with Liquid Coffee after Termination of Steeping Period”, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
In the related art press pots, the only support for a filter or strainer is a central rod that is attached at a center of the filter. When using press pots that have a filter supported only at a center by a central rod, various problems may be encountered, such as the filter being misaligned when inserted into a container, the plunging rod slipping sideways when pressure is applied to the rod, the filter wiggling around in the container when pressure is applied to the rod, and the like.
If a filter that is connected to a central rod is put in crooked or is misaligned within a container of a traditional press pot, unfiltered beverage making material may escape around a side of the filter and contaminate a filtered beverage. Similarly, if the filter wiggles around in the container when a downward pressure is applied, more unfiltered beverage making material may escape around the side of the filter and contaminate the filtered beverage. In addition, if a lid is not placed on the container of the press pot, and the plunging rod slips sideways when a downward pressure is applied, then a mixture of a liquid and the beverage making material may splatter out of the container.
FIG. 2 illustrates a problem with the traditional press pot 10 when the plunger assembly 20 is misaligned as it is placed into the container 16. The rod 22 of the plunger assembly 20 is placed through the lid 30 and is attached at a center of the filter 24. As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the filter 24 is inserted into the container 16, the filter 24 may be misaligned such that the filter 24 is tilted with respect to the container 16. The misalignment of the filter 24 allows the unfiltered mixture 45 of the liquid and the beverage making material to escape around an edge of the filter 24 and to contaminate a provided beverage. For example, if the beverage making material comprises coffee grinds, then some of the unfiltered coffee grinds may escape into the filtered coffee, and the coffee would then be served with a residual sludge or grit of the coffee grinds.
A further disadvantage with traditional press pots is that a filtered beverage that is desired to be served hot may get lukewarm or cold when sitting in a container or brewing chamber of a press pot that is not insulated. For example, if a container of a press pot is made of glass and filtered coffee in the press pot contacts the glass, then the coffee may quickly become lukewarm or cold due to a lack of insulation with respect to the container. Thus, a filtered beverage that is desired to be served hot may lose its temperature quickly in traditional press pots. Some related art press pot designs attempt to solve the insulation problem by adding insulation to the press pots, but such designs have increased costs and may not be cost effective.
A yet further disadvantage of traditional press pots is that it may be tedious and time consuming to clean the press pots after serving a filtered beverage. For example, a residue of a beverage making material may remain on a side wall of a container of a traditional press pot after use, and the residue may harden, which may increase a time required to clean the container. Also, it may be time consuming to disassemble a filter from a plunging rod in order to clean the filter in the traditional press pots.
Another disadvantage of traditional press pots is that they are typically made from expensive materials, such as metal and glass, which increases a cost of production. As a consequence, a retail price for the manufactured traditional press pots may not be reasonable to end consumers.
In light of the above mentioned problems, there is a need for beverage making devices and methods that allow for reducing a likelihood that a plunger will slip or tilt when pressure is applied and, thus, reduce a likelihood that a beverage will splatter out of the beverage making device or that a filtered beverage will be contaminated with unfiltered beverage making material. Also, there is a need for beverage making devices and methods that allow for keeping a filtered beverage warm before it is served, that allow for easy cleaning of a container and a filter after a beverage is served, and that permit the use of inexpensive materials in the manufacturing of the beverage making devices.